Hot Corner: Thoughts on the Alabama, Auburn quarterback races

Quarterback AJ McCarron celebrates with running back Trent Richardson after they connected for a 20-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter of the Alabama A-Day football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa on April 16. (The Birmingham News/Mark Almond)

Let's look into the future. About five months ought to do it. That gets us into September and plenty of time for all of us college football rats to know what's up with this quarterback thing at Auburn and Alabama.

We know Auburn coach Gene Chizik has a big task trying to replace Cam Newton. How do you replace the biggest playmaker in school history?

He's talking about true freshman Kiehl Frazier, who's not even on campus yet, getting a shot at starting. Frazier is one of the greatest high school recruits ever to come out of Arkansas, but he's not going to beat out Barrett Trotter and Clint Moseley, who will settle this starting quarterback thing by the Sept. 3 opener against Utah State.

And even though Alabama coach Nick Saban says he can handle playing two quarterbacks this year, that's not Saban. If AJ McCarron and Phillip Sims split time Sept. 10 at Penn State, then I say good luck with Arkansas, LSU, and you might as well write down a loss in November at Mississippi State.

My two cents is on McCarron. Isn't he the guy his teammates raved about during his scout team days and last year as Greg McElroy's backup?

If Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn can turn Chris Todd into an SEC quarterback, don't you guess he can turn Trotter or Moseley into a winner?

I'm just not sure, with all that talent out the door at Auburn, that the starting quarterback is going to make that big of a difference this fall.

(UPDATED to fix reference to Alabama's 2011 opponents.)

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